{"id":1796,"date":"2025-04-08T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/?p=1796"},"modified":"2025-04-29T14:17:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T14:17:14","slug":"the-ford-maverick-lobo-is-a-silly-little-truck-first-drive-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/08\/the-ford-maverick-lobo-is-a-silly-little-truck-first-drive-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ford Maverick Lobo Is a Silly Little Truck: First Drive Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Ford is good at finding unclaimed ground in the truck market. The company introduced the modern luxury half-ton we all know today, essentially invented the super-truck with the F-150 Raptor, and reignited the mini-truck segment with the Maverick. For 2025, Ford is pressing that advantage with a new car-based street truck for the lowrider set. It\u2019s called the Maverick Lobo, and it kinda rocks.<\/p>\n

“Kinda” is a weight-bearing part of that sentence. Because on the surface, a unibody factory street truck is a weird sell. The Maverick\u2019s long wheelbase, unibody structure, lack of low-range gearing, and big overhangs already make it a less-than-ideal dirt-road companion. But the Lobo<\/a>\u2014with 1.1 fewer inches of clearance at the rear and a widebody kit\u2014is not even attempting to sell on conventional truck bona fides. It\u2019s somewhere between a GMC Syclone and a Ford Escape, defying conventional categorization.<\/p>\n

That, admittedly, is the risk with a “white-space vehicle.” But if you like the idea of the Ford Maverick Lobo, you\u2019re going to love driving it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Quick Specs<\/td>\n2025 Ford Maverick Lobo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Engine<\/td>\nTurbocharged 2.0-Liter Four-Cylinder<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Output<\/td>\n250 Horsepower \/ 277 Pound-Feet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Transmission<\/td>\nSeven-Speed Automatic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Drive Type<\/td>\nAll-Wheel Drive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Base Price \/ As Tested<\/td>\n$42,345<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Why Does the Lobo Exist?<\/h2>\n

\"2025
\nPhoto by: Mack Hogan \/ Motor1<\/p>\n

In its simplest form, the $37,545 Maverick Lobo is Ford\u2019s attempt to capture some social media magic in a from-the-factory package. Basically, Ford<\/a> execs saw people on Instagram<\/em> slamming their Mavericks and thought, “We should do that.” So, they did.<\/p>\n

Street trucks are about two things: Style and speed, in that order. To address the former, Ford lowered the Maverick Lobo by 0.5 inches up front and 1.1 inches out back. Overall clearance is down from as much as 8.4 inches in the stock Maverick to 7.4 inches here. Ford also threw on a black roof, a body kit, and 19-inch \u201cTurbofan\u201d wheels that look cool on their own, but I\u2019m not sold on them here. The $100 upgrade for the more traditional sport wheels might be worth it.<\/p>\n

The only major ding against the Lobo visually is the limited number of paint options: Black, white, gray, or an astounding shade of Velocity Blue (the correct option). It wears all four colors well, but given that lesser Mavericks can be had in better shades, it seems a missed opportunity. Still, the Lobo looks cool.<\/p>\n

\"2025
\nPhoto by: Mack Hogan \/ Motor1<\/p>\n

Pros: Fun To Look At, Easy To Slide, No Major Practicality Penalty<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It has to act the part, though. Here, Ford reworked the formula a bit with upgraded cooling from the Max Tow Pack and a seven-speed automatic from the Euro-market Focus ST. It even gets the Tremor\u2019s torque-vectoring rear differential. Yet, the Lobo uses the same turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder from the standard Maverick that makes 250 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. So, there\u2019s no straight-line advantage.<\/p>\n

The Lobo, then, is supposed to be the twisty-roads truck. Is it?<\/p>\n

Kinda Fun, Kinda Flawed<\/h2>\n

\"2025
\nPhoto by: Mack Hogan \/ Motor1<\/p>\n

The Maverick Lobo is both better than expected and still confounding in purpose. Most street trucks are home-brew projects, more about silly personalization than performance. But since manufacturers are obsessed with authenticity, the Lobo gets retuned suspension and steering, a track-adjacent \u201cLobo\u201d drive mode, and a stability control setting that loves to let the truck rotate.<\/p>\n

These upgrades made the Lobo impressive on an autocross course. The Maverick may be front-drive-based, but that torque-vectoring rear let me steer with my foot, inducing tidy slides. Stability control eventually cuts the fun, but the more throttle and less steering angle you use, the more it\u2019ll let you play. The Lobo also turned in aggressively, with an acceptable level of body roll and enough bite to change direction quickly.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all surprisingly good for a \u201cmini\u201d truck that\u2019s longer than my 2001 Chevy Tahoe. But it isn\u2019t much fun. The steering is too numb, the slides are reliant on black-magic diff work, and stability control makes me feel too much like a hero. The engine, too, isn\u2019t much of a charmer. It\u2019s clearly tuned for low-end grunt, with a growly exhaust note that dies out near what should be the fun end of the tach. The long overhangs also make the Maverick a bit unwieldy in the turns; I clipped a few cones with the back corner.<\/p>\n

\"2025
\nPhoto by: Mack Hogan \/ Motor1<\/p>\n

Cons: Not Very Fun To Drive, Not As Cool As A Home-Built Street Truck<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Lobo fares even worse on a twisty road; it\u2019s not communicative or exciting enough to make me want to explore its limits. With the stock powertrain, the Lobo also isn\u2019t fast enough for on-ramp shenanigans.<\/p>\n

The good news is that, unlike a home-brew street truck, the Maverick Lobo rides really well. It\u2019s easily comfortable enough as a daily driver, albeit noticeably stiffer than the stock Maverick. You also don\u2019t pay much of an efficiency penalty for the package, since it\u2019s a stock powerplant. The Lobo gets 21 miles per gallon city, 30 highway, and 24 combined. That makes it 1 mpg less efficient than the base all-wheel-drive model in the city, but 3 mpg better than the Tremor on the highway.<\/p>\n

\"2025
\nPhoto by: Mack Hogan \/ Motor1<\/p>\n

\"2025
\nPhoto by: Mack Hogan \/ Motor1<\/p>\n

\"2025
\nPhoto by: Mack Hogan \/ Motor1<\/p>\n

The interior, too, is a nice place to be. Like all 2025 Mavericks, the Lobo has a 13.2-inch central touchscreen with Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, and a cabin that feels utilitarian and spare without feeling cheap. The Lobo adds Grabber Blue and Electric Lime colored stitching, and a \u201cgraffiti-inspired\u201d print on the seats, but mostly I just felt like I was sitting in a Maverick.<\/p>\n

The sacrifices come when you want to do Truck Stuff. Like the Tremor, the Lobo gets significantly less maximum payload capacity than the lower-end models. It can haul 1,045 pounds, down from 1,500 in the base EcoBoost. Towing is limited to 2,000 lbs, while hybrids and 2.0-liter vehicles with the Max Tow pack can usually tug 4,000 lbs around town.<\/p>\n

Street-Truck Silliness<\/h2>\n

\"2025
\nPhoto by: Mack Hogan \/ Motor1<\/p>\n

Street trucks are stupid, I say with love. Nobody buys a GMC Syclone or a first-gen F-150 Lightning or a Ram SRT-10 to solve a problem. They buy them because they\u2019re silly, and silly trucks are cool. Ford surely knows this, which is why the irrational Lobo exists.<\/p>\n

Yet, Ford knows better than most why this segment frequently pops in and out of existence. The joy of the Lobo is that it is different; it\u2019s fresh, exciting, and stands in stark contrast to the lifted 2500s that rule the day.<\/p>\n

\"2025
\nPhoto by: Mack Hogan \/ Motor1<\/p>\n

\"2025
\nPhoto by: Mack Hogan \/ Motor1<\/p>\n

But when the novelty fades, we\u2019re still left with the unchanged truth: Street trucks don\u2019t make a lick of sense. They persist in the aftermarket because\u2014whether it\u2019s a slammed Tundra or a supercharged Silverado\u2014people find them fun. Personalization is central to the street truck scene, limiting how many die-hards Ford\u2014or anyone else\u2014can capture with a factory rig.<\/p>\n

Some casual fans, however, want a street truck with a warranty they can drive to work. For those people, the Maverick Lobo is a damned good product. For the rest of us, the standard Maverick is even better.<\/p>\n

Competitors<\/h3>\n

Hyundai Santa Cruz<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
2025 Ford Maverick Lobo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Engine<\/td>\nTurbocharged 2.0-liter I4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Output<\/td>\n250 Horsepower \/ 277 Pound-Feet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Transmission<\/td>\nSeven-Speed Automatic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Drive Type<\/td>\nAll-Wheel Drive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight<\/td>\n3,814 Pounds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Efficiency<\/td>\n21 City \/ 30 Highway \/ 24 Combined<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seating Capacity<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Towing<\/td>\n2,000 Pounds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Payload<\/td>\n1,045 Pounds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cargo Volume<\/td>\n33.0 Cubic Feet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Base Price<\/td>\n$42,345<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
As-Tested Price<\/td>\n$42,345<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
On Sale<\/td>\nNow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Ford is good at finding unclaimed ground in the truck market. The company introduced the modern luxury half-ton we all know today, essentially invented the super-truck with the F-150 Raptor, and reignited the mini-truck segment with the Maverick. For 2025, Ford is pressing that advantage with a new car-based street truck for the lowrider set….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1796"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1814,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1796\/revisions\/1814"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}